With their unique pen and their own sensitivity, artists present to us their vision of the world around us. This week, we give carte blanche to Louis-Jean Cormier.
Everything suddenly appeared to me during a very normal dinner with my mother, Carmelle, and my son, Édouard, in the summer trailer on the Long Pointe cape in Petite-Vallée.
As the sun dipped into the horizon and the aromas of seafood pizza unfolded, we were talking about anxiety when I heard Carmelle say to her grandson, “If you knew how nervous your dad was the day before his classical piano concerts when he was young! I had to sleep with him, your grandfather had to stroke his hair by tucking him in…”
It hit me.
It then took me back to my 20s, where I think I went through what felt like depression. “This is the first time in my life that I think I’m unhappy,” I heard myself say. I immersed myself in reading the Lord of the Rings with the sole aim of not leaving an inch of space for my thoughts. I did what therapists don’t suggest, I fled! And it came back to me in my mid-thirties, separation, metamorphosis and new passion for spirituality and well-being. Classic!
But the Louis-Jean in front of the pizza had literally forgotten that he had ever experienced stress and fear. It’s strange.
My favorite, Michael Singer, writes in Living Untethered that the roots of fear are divided into only two categories: the fear of not having what you want, and the fear of having what you do not want. Including failures, illness, accidents and death.
I will never believe the power and simplicity of this man’s teachings.
By reading this, we obviously understand that fear is a creation of our mind, but that it feeds on one thing in particular: OUR PREFERENCES. In other words, it is by having expectations that we create our fears, our isolated anxieties or our chronic anxiety.
Where do these preferences come from that control us so much?
Our identity.
From the idea that our ego has of itself. This identity that we forge for ourselves with great force of: “that’s so not ME, that!” » or “ah yes, that’s really MY type!” “. This identity which gives us a feeling of existing and of standing out from others. The one that is reinforced by the performance society in which we live. When we are asked: “Who are you?” “, generally we answer: “I am a name, a profession, a gender, a sexual orientation, rich, poor, good living, sporty, sick, lark…”
We rarely start with: “I am a human being living on the surface of a tiny planet that “spins” in a universe filled with 99.99999% vacuum! »
That would be too scary!
The lowest denominator of our existence is our consciousness. Spectator of all the events taking place before us, she has never changed.
She saw, in real time, our first steps, our first day at kindergarten, the changes in our body, our first Frenchour first sexual relationship, our first heartbreak, our failures, our successes, etc. Still the same today. Not aged a bit!
We are just that, and always in the present moment.
Everything else hangs on the timeline, our preferences are dependent on the past and our fears, on the future.
Yes, I hear you saying: “But what should we do first?” »
First, just be aware of it.
The Buddha’s famous phrase, “Life is only suffering…”, explains that as long as we do not realize that we are led by our ego, life will be arduous, and as soon as we detach ourselves from the mind of identity , we will experience deep joy. The words of Leonard Cohen are powerful in this regard: “Until you become the ocean, you will be seasick.” A certain Jesus chanted 2000 years ago: “So be it! » and he was totally right.
Singer adds: “The moment in front of you does not bother you, you disturb yourself in relation to the moment in front of you. »
And this is also true for fears.
How many fears have come true in your life?
Probably very little. But all my anxious friends repeat the same sentence to me:
“I know it’s irrational, but it’s stronger than me! »
When I approach the very overused “letting go » with those around me, I realize that most believe they have to give up in the face of unfortunate events in life, instead of letting go of the part of ourselves that “fails” in the face of the event.
Singer uses the comparison with tug-of-war.
When we ruminate on a painful memory and our state changes, imagine that we are pulling a rope, alone, against a team of footballers. The only valid option is to let go of the rope and make the opponent fall.
It sounds crazy, but I suggest you try it. Close your eyes, revisit an event that still troubles you today and after letting the memories wash over you, let go of the rope for real and take a deep breath. You will then feel a transmutation of energy, more space in your chest and a feeling of liberation.
Another antidote to fear is of course confidence in life. Yes, I know, this life often sends us images that we would like to forget, natural disasters, pandemics, frightening wars led by the fears of both camps… But trust can also manifest itself. Several neuroscience studies have managed to demonstrate the vibrational frequencies of our emotions and their power of attraction.
Exactly as the old Eastern writings on karma demonstrate, negative emotions attract unhappiness and positive ones attract happiness and success.
I prefer Yoda to Darth Vader.
I am one of those who believe in the vital energy unity, and who have been testing it for a long time. So if fear attracts obstacles, we must visualize confidence and deep joy to experience happiness. Once again, I challenge you. Every morning, just before you get out of bed and pick up your phone, smile for 30 seconds, even if you’re a marabout and it sounds fake. Visualize everything you would like to experience and feel the emotion attached to it. It’s really not rocket science and quite logical.
I believe we are much more than we think we are. That we can really improve our condition and that of others. Marvel at everything, at every moment, at how lucky we are to be alive. Of this complexity of chance which made my great-great-great-grandfather want to date my great-great-great-grandmother, and so on, until I found myself in front of the St. Lawrence River, and its typically Gaspésie orange-pink sky, talking about the roots of fear with my mother and my son.
Even if it doesn’t always seem like it, life knows what it’s doing.
What do you think? Express your opinion
Who is Louis-Jean Cormier?
- Originally from Sept-Îles, Louis-Jean Cormier first became known as the leader of the band Karkwa, which released four albums between 2003 and 2010, and one in 2023, In the second.
- His first solo album, The thirteenth floorwas released in 2012. A second disc, The major arterieswas released in 2015, followed by When night falls five years later.
- He has notably produced albums for David Marin and Philippe Brach, in addition to being associated with projects such as 12 men rapailledin homage to the poet Gaston Miron, and the Cirque Éloize show disc Alone togetherbased on the work of Harmonium.